D&D 5E D&D, for kids?

Leatherhead · May 31, 2013

While reading Should the next edition of D&D promote more equality?, it was brought up that D&D is a game designed for kids.

This thread, is for discussing what that means exactly.

Lets get down to it. D&D is a game where hanging out in taverns, violently killing people and taking their stuff is an everyday occurrence. And things like soul eating monsters or lobotomizing cannibalistic squid-faced slavers are common enough for people to know about them. To be quite honest, none of that seems particularly "kid friendly."

But then again, others might have a dramatically different idea of what "kid" means.
Could "Kid" mean:

Teenagers?
I think that's a little dismissive.
Preteens? Maybe?

9 year olds?
6 year olds?
I don't think D&D should be designed for them. Mind you, I don't mean that they can't enjoy a properly supervised game. After all, some parents take their kids to go see horror movies all the time. What I mean is that the game shouldn't be restricted in subject to what would be widely considered appropriate for those groups. Well perhaps not widely considered, but like what an organization such as the ESRB or MPAA would consider appropriate, for reference.

So I ask you; At what level is D&D for kids, and how should the game reflect that?

Michael Silverbane · May 31, 2013

Leatherhead said:
While reading Lets get down to it. D&D is a game where hanging out in taverns, violently killing people and taking their stuff is an everyday occurrence. And things like soul eating monsters or lobotomizing cannibalistic squid-faced slavers are common enough for people to know about them.

I don't see anything there that seems inappropriate for children. Depictions of violence are not the same as violence. I knew that when I started playing D&D at eight years of age, and all the kids that I have been around know that now.

The old Moldvay Basic D&D Box Set that I got when I was a kid said "For 3 or more adults, ages 10 and up"

Ahnehnois · May 31, 2013

I don't see the violence as being a real issue. Most kids see much more graphic and gratuitous violence than D&D has to offer with its abstract combat and unrealistic style. More importantly, pretending to kill things is pretty much the archetypical form of play. Kids play fight all the time. So do dogs for that matter. It's natural, instinctive, and entirely healthy. D&D is less violent that what went on at my elementary school playgrounds.

I think the biggest issues with kids are simple comprehension of the rules, and establishing and maintaining a social contract. This is one impetus to step back, make the rules simpler, and cut down on jargon. The social part is harder. Good supervision is important; there probably aren't a lot of good 6-year-old DMs, but with an adult DM, they can probably play. The dynamic is probably not much different than an adult teaching kids any game.

TheGlow · May 31, 2013

I first played when I was in Kindergarten while also playing commodore 64 games.
My cousin had me fill in for someone not there. And instantly they loved me because i was sneaking around, robbing captured teammates instead of saving them, and rolling 20's galore.
I tried last week with my 8 and 10 year old daughters. 8 year old isnt interested. 10 year old begs to play BUT cries if I describe in any detail a death.
"Just say he died. dont tell me how his eyeball fell out and rolled on the floor"

Dannyalcatraz · May 31, 2013

Certainly, its a game for kids. My first foray into D&D was as a 10 year old, playing alongside 10 year olds, being DMed by an 11 year old.

(Things didn't get "juvenile" until I was in my early teens.

)

And I have DMed for youngsters, too.

Mishihari Lord · May 31, 2013

Yes, it's for kids. I started playing when I was 10, with my mom as DM. When I was 11 I started DMing for my friends.

As for the fighting, I was reading juvenile fantasy and science fiction at that age, and some adult, and the game is certainly no worse that the stuff I was reading, which was commonly considered appropriate for my age.

Marketing-wise, I think it's important that the game be kid-friendly. I know that a lot of people on these boards started playing as a kid, and I expect that if I hadn't started playing as a kid I might not have played at all, since teenage pursuits started to become important and time consuming shortly after I started.

Texicles · May 31, 2013

I think that an important distinction should be made between what D&D is and what D&D can be. By this I mean, D&D is a set of rules and a framework to facilitate role-playing. It's fundamentally a sort of organization for make-believe (a favorite pastime for children).

On the other hand, D&D games tend to have many of the tropes you mentioned -- violence, taverns, monsters, et. al. -- but the none of those things are actually required to play D&D. Granted, I'd be unlikely to run or play a game where things like combat and slovenly trulls were totally off the table, but I'm sure that such a table exists and that its players have a rollicking good time.

I could see creating an adventure geared for younger players whereby spells and other typically combat-oriented abilities could be used to solve puzzles, scare (but not actually harm) pesky goblins, and help the humble townsfolk, all the while making heavy use of social interaction.

Point being, the existence of more mature subjects and kid-friendly adventures are not mutually exclusive within the mechanical framework of D&D, because that framework doesn't dictate content, just format. This is one reason why simple options for rules-light games are appealing, not just for the old-school appeal.

Dannyalcatraz said:
Things didn't get "juvenile" until I was in my early teens.

This made me chuckle, heartily. Some of the most puerile games I can think of were the product of (oft besotted) 20 and 30-somethings.

sabrinathecat · May 31, 2013

kids being exposed to the idea that adults meet and socialize in places that serve intoxicating beverages? yes, that is certainly riske'. Good thing they don't have anything like that in those good, wholesome, family values TV shows like Gunsmoke, or Have Gun Will Travel, or Bananza.

gyor · May 31, 2013

I'm okay with playing DnD, but not making DnD for kids, because that usually translates to censership which I don't support.

Think on this, 50 percent of teenage girls watch internet porn, that's just the girls. Biys are 90 percent. S&M pornstar James Deen has a large teenage girl following. And research shows its had no ill effect on them. Compared to that dnd, even stuff like the 3.5 book of vile darkness isn't as graphic.

So I'm all for it as long as it doesn't mean censorship.